Herhold: A journalist's wishes for 2013

OK, you have your New Year's resolutions. You want to lose a few pounds or be nicer to your colleagues. You crave world peace and an end to hunger in Africa. You want the Sharks to return.

Have you ever stopped to think about the ink-stained wretches who bring you the news? What about us? If everyone got along -- if people acted as they should -- we'd have a lot less to write about.

With that in mind -- and face it, resolutions are really about No. 1 -- here are my top wishes for 2013:

1. George Shirakawa stays in office. Every journalist who covers Santa Clara County politics knows that a Shirakawa departure from his supervisor's job would be disastrous. It's bad enough that he's rotating out as the board president.

Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa at a Board of Supervisors meeting in San Jose on Nov. 20, 2012. (Gary Reyes/Staff file)

With Shirakawa on the 10th floor of the county building, we're assured of a steady flow of embarrassing stories: Another questionable expense put on the county's dime, another flagrant failure to file paperwork, maybe even something sweeter.

A good-government type like Teresa Alvarado, sometimes mentioned as a successor, would end that productive run. It's a risk we can't afford.

2) The pact over Thomas Kinkade's estate collapses. From a journalist's view, one of the most unfortunate developments of 2012 was the peace between the Painter of Light's estranged wife, Nanette, and his girlfriend, Amy Pinto. It squelched a whole line of intriguing stories: Who gets the house? Who gets the art? What about the will?

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What happened to Pinto's pledge to clear her name? We deserve answers.

3) John McAfee faces justice. Sadly, the story of the tech pioneer who is a "person of interest" in the murder of his neighbor lost steam when he moved to Miami. It was better when he played cat-and-mouse with the cops in Belize.

The best way to revive a story is to have McAfee extradited to face charges. His girlfriends would exult. His tweets would increase. And the media would rejoice.

4) Bill and Nadia Lockyer get back together. All right, it's not likely. But we can always hope. The soap opera that accompanied their breakup -- the drug use, the lover in San Jose, the political repercussions -- could start again. And our own problems would seem minor.

5) Pete Stark mounts a comeback. I know, I know: I wrote last year that it was time for the 80-year-old Stark to leave Congress. But now that he's really going after losing the election to Eric Swalwell, I miss him. I like a guy who invents an accusation that his opponent took bribes. I appreciate a congressman who won't debate. Good stories. Good times.

6) The San Jose cops give Chuck Reed a ticket for going 26 mph in a 25 mph zone. The last time the mayor got a ticket -- for not signaling in a marked right-hand-turn lane -- he paid the ticket and agreed to go to traffic school. It took the air out of the story.

If the cops upped the ante with a really petty infraction, the acrimony would explode in a deeply satisfying way. Reed might even contest the ticket in court. Who wants to cover a dull case about pensions when you can see the loathing played out over something so simple?

There you have it: All I'm asking is for a few topics to cover. A little consideration for the new year. That isn't too much to ask, is it?